Wizards; the re-Coolening

Okay, at this point I've DMed a little 5e, and played a fair bit, and I must say it is lighthearted approachable fun.

There are a few things that bug me, though.
Namely, there seems to be little metagame incentive to play a wizard.
Sorcs basically become more powerful wizards, with a fun gimmick like the sorc. points, and also have thundering CHA-scores, which usually ends up being far more useful than a high intelligence.
Granted, great "arcana" gets used pretty frequently, but I infrequently find myself calling, or being asked to roll for "Nature", "history" or "investigation".

What can we do to make wizards cool again?
I'm looking at starting a new game, and I want there to be some incentive to picking a wizard.

Maybe a new sub-class, with a few more fun tricks?
Veeky Forums, help me now.

One rule which I've never tried but could be interesting is to seperate stats and skills, so when you make a skill check you use whichever stat and skill make the most sense, this means that so long as a wizard can fluff a way in which their intelligence helps them do a thing they get their int bonus, it may help with playing the wise sage who has good advice for every situation if your int actually was useful in a wide range of situations.

weak bait

I rate it oh-point-eight out of eight

I've considered making a high INT character more by having a homebrew rule that, for instance, any skill-check which would normally add WIS or CHA, can add half a characters INT-modifier, rounded down, instead, if it is better.
Is that retarded?

Absolutely anything and everything is always bait to someone, on Veeky Forums.
I'm not really interested in discussing D&D class-balancing as such, I just want my players to have the option of going for a bookworm/sage type of character without feeling like they are passing up their chance of combat relevance, or fun gimmicks.

Wizards are absolutely stronger than sorcerers.

They have better spell selection, more spells per day, and school bonuses are generally better than whatever features the sorcerer gets.

Please go and post this in the 5e general and see people's colourful opinions on wizards

My group uses this for intimidation. Why should the dainty bard be better at intimidation than the goliath barbarian? Strength (Intimidate) makes a lot of sense desu

This makes sense aside from intimidate and possibly performance but it makes sense, just kind of a weaker version of OPs idea

Maybe I am wrong. Still, the School Bonuses just seem (mostly) a little stale. It's not so much whether they are powerful, as whether they are fun, I guess. If they were a bit more "active" so to speak, and less mostly passive bonuses, that might be cool.

I have a feeling that this would not yield anything constructive.

The exciting thing about wizard isn't the class abilities but having access to all the wizard spells.

Also, while schools are not that exciting, they are a straight upgrade compared to sorcerer. Just compare evoker school to dragon sorc/shaping metamagic.

Plus, if you want to do silly, there's still the Spellsinger.

Wizards have a larger selection of spells than a sorcerer and can buy more. School bonuses range from alright to crazy good, like divination rerolls. Just the variety of options alone make them for versatile than the blaster focused sorcerers. They don't need buffing.
This is how the game works by default

>This is how the game works by default
Citation needed.

Give them tattoos/piercings, make them listen to dubstep/vaporwave etc.

>metagaming
tut tut

>Normally, your proficiency in a skill applies only to a specific kind of ability check. Proficiency in Athletics, for example, usually applies to Strength checks. In some situations, though, your proficiency might reasonably apply to a different kind of check. In such cases, the DM might ask for a check using an unusual combination of ability and skill, or you might ask your DM if you can apply a proficiency to a different check. For example, if you have to swim from an offshore island to the mainland, your DM might call for a Constitution check to see if you have the stamina to make it that far. In this case, your DM might allow you to apply your proficiency in Athletics and ask for a Constitution (Athletics) check. So if you’re proficient in Athletics, you apply your
proficiency bonus to the Constitution check just as you would normally do for a Strength (Athletics) check. Similarly, when your half-orc barbarian uses a display of raw strength to intimidate an enemy, your DM might ask for a Strength (Intimidation) check, even though
Intimidation is normally associated with Charisma.
/5eg/ was right, nobody reads the PHB

I agree that having access to a bunch of spells makes for interesting gameplay, but I still find the level advancement and abilities mostly stale.
Essentially, something interesting happens at 2nd, 6th, 10th and 14th level. Other that that, you get more spells, and that's it. Even your new features, rare as they are, are mostly passive bonuses.
It's not so much whether they need buffing to keep up, as how to make them engaging and fun, keep players feeling like there's something there.

I read it, I just thought it might make you realize on your own how the PHB is different from what the guy you were responding to described. But I guess basic communication skills is too much to expect from an autist.

It is odd you don't get nature, history or investigation checks.
I mean, anything refering to the politics, events, tactics/strategy, or just plain remembering something could all fall under history.
Likewise, nature is a good number of creatures out of the MM. Plus plants, fungi and things. No herbalists or poison crafters in your groups?
Investigation is rolled any time you check a body or bodies for loot, or search a room. It comes up almost every session.

I'm honestly considering just getting rid of Wizards as a class and putting Psions in their place. Might help them be more distinct.

>yet another 3.pf babby wanting to buff wizards because they aren't OP enough

Just go back to your other shitty game, 5e is bland as hell, nothing you change is going to make it inherently more fun.

The /5eg/s are actually good and will offer constructive talk and are not at all like the /pfg/s.

> Sorcerers are better than wizards
Is this bait?